Tadpole Diary

[LilyPad]

I was thinking that too, however, I think they're getting too big to be chorus frogs. They are already bigger than the toad tadpoles with not even a hint of legs yet. The dark spots are also getting darker and some and still nonexistent on others. We may have 2 different kinds. It will be interesting!

As for the toads, they are growing so quickly! Over the weekend, the house got pretty hot (before I caved and turned on the a/c last night) so I was keeping the lights turned off on all the tanks. When it finally cooled down last night, I turned the lights on the tadpole tank to do a water change, and found this! -

20160530_213714 by A H, on Flickr

We now have 4 toad tadpoles moved over to the grow out container. Once their tails are absorbed and I'm sure they're eating, I'll move them over to a bigger tank with substrate that has been seeded with springtails and isopods.

They are quick little suckers though! They're not easy to catch. I had no idea they would morph so quickly. When we got them, not even 2 weeks ago, they had the tiniest speck of back legs and now they're already just about ready to come out of the water. I have a feeling that more will have front legs tonight because they had some pretty good sized lumps on their front end.

[LilyPad]

It's kind of shocking how quickly these little guys are growing! We got 18 toad tadpoles (was supposed to be 20, but oh well), 16 are out of the water, 1 is still in the water, and we had 1 fatality because one little dude didn't leave the water quite like he should have and drowned. The smaller ones are munching down springs but the larger of the group have started on D. mels and have also enjoyed some D. hyd larvae.

13304994_1636523970001643_7369857064282231730_o by A H, on Flickr
13350394_1636523973334976_7759854661265455384_o by A H, on Flickr
13323772_1639552623032111_1650278253331732619_o by A H, on Flickr
13351009_10153534809631976_1764666221_o by A H, on Flickr
13396504_10153534809536976_1166052952_o by A H, on Flickr


The mystery tads are what my kids and I call "super poopers." I have to vacuum the floor of the tank DAILY with these guys. They are quite a bit bigger than toad tadpoles, which isn't very hard to do though. They act differently than the toad tadpoles. They enjoy "hanging" from things like the salvina and anubias that are floated or even an IAL if it is lifted a bit. The toads mostly just scavenged through the bottom of the tank and rested there at night. I still have no id'd them, but I am really hoping they end up being greys. They have hit the point where they are too big to be Pseudacris sp. but have grown too rapidly and are starting to develop legs, but are too small to be the bigger rana species like greenfrogs or bullfrogs. Still looking at leopard frogs, wood frogs, and grey tree frogs. I have a feeling it will only be another 2 weeks before we find out!

We call this guy "Mr. Crooked Tail" (I know, very original )
13350309_1639552083032165_2760876557211633222_o by A H, on Flickr
13301348_1637168863270487_7935147646840353131_o by A H, on Flickr
13268351_1637168859937154_4788933951306235360_o by A H, on Flickr
13405228_10153534809176976_1063823430_o by A H, on Flickr
13388922_10153534808791976_1566920634_o by A H, on Flickr

About a week after we got the toads, we noticed a little speck zipping around the tank. We weren't sure what it was at first and initially thought it was a very tiny tadpole. Turns out that it was a little fish! So we're raising him right along with the tads. He's very tiny but growing every day and we do not have to try to strain to see him anymore.
13405277_10153534808666976_1248174834_o (1) by A H, on Flickr

[gut]

Wonderful!! Eagerly awaiting the next update

[Cliygh and Mia 2]

As am I!

[LilyPad]

One step closer to id'ing the mystery tads! One of the big guys had a whisper of a leg when I left for work yesterday and some pretty good sized legs when I got home from work last night!

20160607_072049 by A H, on Flickr

[Cliygh and Mia 2]

Can't wait to see what they turn out to be!

[LilyPad]

The toads are finally all out of the water and ALL on D. mels, which is great. They eat a ton and are also starting to get that chubby toad look. They're still tiny but so adorable! Out of all 18 of the toad tadpoles, we lost 1 because it did not come out of the water like it was supposed to and drowned. Other than that, the remaining 17 are thriving! I was a little concerned about the last one to come OOW because he was much tinier and skinnier than the others when they did, but he has perked up fast and is just as chubby as the rest now.

20160612_205316 by A H, on Flickr

20160612_205050 by A H, on Flickr

This morning we woke up to a surprise that one of our mystery tadpoles had 3 legs! I moved him over to the grow out tank (separate from the toads) and within the next 5 minutes, we got to watch the 4th leg pop through. About 10 minutes later, he came out of the water. Our first mystery tad OOW! I do believe they're tree frogs, judging by their toe pads. I am fairly certain that this guy is a grey tree frog because there is some yellow on the inside of the back legs and he turned pretty red when I caught him in the net. The next day or two should tell us though!

20160612_205208 by A H, on Flickr

20160612_205121 by A H, on Flickr

20160613_073006 by A H, on Flickr

20160613_084230 by A H, on Flickr